Awaji Puppet Theater — Local services in Minamiawaji

Very interesting. They obviously did not have foreign groups visit much but they were very enthusiastic and clearly tried their best to get information across and make it fun for us.

I do not think watching bunraku (Japanese puppet theatre) is for everyone. But if you are interested in Japanese culture or drama or puppets, I recommend it. Note that when we were there, the first show of the day was a backstage tour--my friends who speak no Japanese did that backstage tour as well as watching a performance (second show of the day) and still had a great time.

As a note, the town overall is not very foreigner friendly, so were very happy to have a great experience at the...

Set against beautiful Fukura Bay, Awaji Ningyo Za offers a magical entrance into the captivating tradition of Japanese puppetry. The beautiful one-of-a-kind theater offers daily performances with skillfully manipulated puppets, stunning sets, and a mesmerizing fusuma karakuri show. This was the highlight for my trip, with large hand painted sets that move in and out to create stunning pictorial vignettes. There’s nothing like it. The shows are also short and great for families and children. If you have the opportunity to go, don’t miss diving into this special home for Japanese puppetry and Awaji’s rich performance history.

English audio guides are...

Great opportunity to experience traditional puppet theatre in Japan. They provide an English translation of the play for you to follow along with. No photography or videography is allowed during the play.

Shows are short sections of an entire play and all the narration is done by one person sitting to the side. It’s fascinating to see the vocal range of the narrator and how realistic the puppets movements look! The only downfall is the shows are a little short so I would recommend stopping by if you’re...